Member Comments for the Article:

Whittle Your Waist, Fatten Your Wallet

5 Goal-Setting Tips for Fitness and Finances

10 Comments

I, too, am doing a bit better financially than I am with eating. I could use help understanding how to follow the meal plans without wasting food. (I am alone, and the variety of foods needed to enjoy the meals seems very wasteful......maybe something like nutrisystem would work??)
- 8/29/2014 8:22:08 AM

I liked this article. Fitness and Finance goes hand in hand. Both need to be addressed and too often both get put on the back burner. I have an unique way to save extra. I shop at thrift stores, for every 20.00 I spend, save 5.00 for savings. For every pound I gain during a week, even if I lose it later that week, I match it dollar for pound. I also save a dollar for every day here on Spark. Plus the pounds I lost to reach goal in dollars. I was going to use to buy new clothes. No need. have plenty. Now I just save, maybe a cruise, or maybe add to my retirement fund. I exercise everyday. I pay into the fund if I miss a day or don't get in my steps. - 4/24/2014 9:50:51 AM

This was right on target for me. I feel I manage my finances very well and I never thought of drawing a parallel to managing my fitness! I've made a sticky note to remind me to apply the financial skills to my fitness efforts.
- 3/8/2013 8:02:22 PM

I like the comparisons, I want to save an extra $200 this month so I should compare it to cutting out an extra 200 calories from my diet or doing two extra workout than normal. I got these new DVD's called "The Firm" and I like the 20 minute workouts - I figure twice a day twenty minutes each and I've got it licked!
- 3/6/2013 2:13:02 PM

Good solid advice. There are things in life that are actually simpler than we make them out to be. I often jump on the scale and think, "How did I just gain 3 pounds?!" when I know that I haven't been tracking and I have been doing extra snacking. Things creep up on you.
- 3/6/2013 8:59:58 AM

I suggest folks look at You Need a Budget (YNAB) - a computer application that significantly improved my financial planning.

Similar to the suggestions above, YNAB has four rules:

1. Give every dollar a job 2. Save for a rainy day 3. Roll with the punches 4. Live on last month's income

The program is designed to help you use these rules to get control of your finances. I think it is fun to use and there is a great community of people at YNAB that share a similar passion as SparkPeople.

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